Foot-operated accelerator for automobiles



H. 0'. THEABOLD.

FOOT OPERATED ACCELERATOR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. TO. 1920. 1,395,371. T Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

HC'iTmZo/vi H. C. THEABOLD.

FOOT OPERATED ACCELERATOR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I0. I920 1 ,395 ,37 1 Patented Nov. 1', 1921.

H 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HARRY CHESTER THEABOLD, 0F GIBSON, NEW MEXICO.

FOOT-OPERATED ACCELERATOR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed January 10, 1920.

T0 (17! whom. it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY CHESTER THEA- BOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gibson, in the county of McKinley and State of New Mexico, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foot-Operated Accelerators for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a throttle operating mechanism for accelerators, as they are generally known, and particularly to an accelerator to be used in connection with the ordinary hand operated accelerator or independently therefrom so that acceleration of the car, that is the opening of the throttle, may be secured by the action of the foot of the driver in place of by hand.

The general object of my invention is the provision of a device of this character particularly adapted for Ford cars. in which the accelerating lever is operatively con nected to the throttle rod of the engine and extends to a position behind the dash and into such position that it may be readily operated by that foot of the operator which engages the brake pedal of the automobile.

A further object is to provide a mechanism which will give an even flow of gas while the car is being jolted over rough roads.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of this character which is very simple and which may be applied to the type of car mentioned without any changes in the car itself or the ordinary and usual accelerating mechanism therefor.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile engine with my invention applied -thereto Fig. 2 Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan of the construction illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bracket 23.

Referring to these drawings, it will be is a section on the line 2-2 of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921. Serial No. 350,629.

seen that 10 designates the cylinder block of a motor car, there being the usual passage 11 between certain of the cylinders through which the throttle rod 12 operates. This throttle rod at one end is provided with a hook whereby it engages the usual throttle arm on the throttle of the engine, the-opposite end of the throttle rod being screwthreaded, as at 13, and provided with nuts 14 whereby it may be connected to the usual hand operated throttle controlling mechanlsm disposed on the steering post of the automobile by a short chain 15. The innermost nut 14 constitutes an adjustable stop. Altthese parts, with the exception of the chain 15 and the adjustable stop nut, are common in Ford cars. The rod 12 is drawn in one direction by a spring in the usual manner, this spring operating to urge the throttle to a closed position. The engine is provided with two bolts 16 and 17, these bolts being those ordinarily found in motors of the character described. I make use of these two bolts 16 and 17 for the purpose of supporting my accelerating mechanism.

My device comprises a sectional lever, one

section of'which is provided with an arm 18. This arm is relatively straight for the greater portion of its length, but at one end is slightly bent, as at 19. This slightly bent end is mounted upon a bolt 20 which is provided with pairs of lock nuts 21 and 22 at its upper and lower ends respectively. This bolt is mounted in a supporting bracket, designated generally 23, the top of this bracket being right angular in form and resting upon the top of the engine block, one end of this right angular upper portion of the bracket being perforated for the passage of the bolt 17 and being held in place by the nut on said bolt. The oppositeend of this bolt 20. The bolt extends above and for the passage of the bolt 20, and at its lower end the bracket 23 is provided with an inwardly turned lug 24 for the passage of this bolt 20. The bolt extends above and below the upper and lower ends of the bracket 23 and the pairs of lock nuts 21 and 22 are disposed above the upper and lower ends of the supporting bracket.

The first section 25 of the lever has a relatively horizontal portion which is perforated at one end and is inserted between the dein a-horizontal plane,

fiected end 19 of the arm 18, and the lower nut 21 at the upper end of the bolt 20. The horizontal portion of the lever extends through a suitable aperture in the dash board 26 of the car and then the strip from which the lever is made is angularly bent so that the plane of the rear portion of the strip is at rightv angles to the plane of the horizontal portion 25, and then extends upward and rearward at an inclination so it will be disposed adjacent to the foot of an operator having his foot upon the brake edal of the automobile. Between the lock nuts 22 at the lower end of the bolt 20, I mount the rear end of a lower lever section 27, which section extends horizontally for a certain distance and then is downwardly and forwardly extendedto a position opposite the opening 11. This section is perforated for the passage of the rod 12 and the nut 14 bears against this section. Thus it will be obvious that when the lever 25 is rotated in a horizontal plane by the foot of the operator, the lever section 27 will also be rotated and this will cause the lower end of the lever section 27 to bear against the nut 14 and draw the throttle rod 12 laterally against the action of the throttle spring. To the extremity of the arm 18 of the operating lever is connected a spiral, coiled spring 28, which in turn engages with a plate 29 having two eyes. With one of these eyes the upper, hooked end of the spring 28 engages, and with the other eye the bolt 16 engages. This spring 28 will resist any lateral movement of the lever formed by the members 25 and 18.

The operation of this device will be obvious from what has gone before. Inasmuch as the rod 12 slips loosely through the eye in theextremity of the section 27, it is obvious that the throttle lever may be adjusted by the usual hand controlled means without affecting the knee controlled lever. If, however, it is desired to automatically accelerate the car without shifting the usual hand controlled lever, then the operator presses his foot against theupwardly extending portion of the lever section 25, thus turning it and at the same time rotating the bolt 20. This rotation of the bolt 20 is communicated to the section 27 and tothe arm18. Any motion of the arm 18 is resisted by the sprin 28, which tends to draw the lever back to its original position. A rotation of the-lever formed by the sections 25 and 27 against the action of the spring 28 will, of course, cause the lever to bear against the stop 14, and hence will shift the throttle rod 12 with the usual consequences.

Inasmuch as the operators foot is not bearing upon the accelerator, as it does upon an accelerator pedal, it is obvious that the accelerator pedal will not be accidentally operated by the vehicle jolting over bad roads,

which is one ofthe difficulties of the ordinary foot pedal operated accelerator. The foot may be readily kept away from the lever 25 until it is actually desired to accelerate. Then the operator forces his foot laterally, thus pressing against the upper end of the lever section 25 and thereby shifting the lever and opening the throttle in the manner heretofore described.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangements of parts, it is obvious that these might be changed in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

I claim .1. An accelerator for automobiles including a bracket adapted to be mounted upon an engine block by one of the engine bolts and providing upperand lower bearings, a bolt rotatably mounted in said bracket, a lever section mountedupon said bolt at the lower end thereof and below said bracket for rotation with the bolt and mounted for adjustment around the bolt and adapted at its forward endv to be loosely connected to a throttle rod, a lever section v detachably engaged with the upper end of said bolt and rotating therewith but adjustable around the axis of the boltand with relation thereto and extending horizontally and then upward and rearward in approximately the same plane for its entire length, whereby said lever may be operated by a sidewis'e movement of the operators foot or knee, an arm also attached to the upper end of said bolt for rotation therewith and extending forward therefrom, said arm being adjustable around the axis of the bolt, a spring engaged with the forward end of said arm, and a plate with which the other end of said spring is detachably engaged and having a bolt holefor the passage of an engine bolt.

2. An accelerator for automobiles including a bracket adapted to be mounted upon a engine block by one of the engine bolts, said bracket having a horizontal portion and a lower portion angularly bent at its lower extremity, the horizontal portion and the angular portion of the lower extremity of the bracket being perforated to provide upper and lower bearings, a boltrotatably mounted in said bearings, a pair of nuts engaging the lower end of said bolt below the lower bearing, a lever section mounted upon said bolt at thelower end thereof and disposed between said nuts whereby the nuts may be turned toward each other to hold the lever section for unitary movement with the bolt and permit the'adjustment of the lever section, said lever section being adapted at its forward end to be loosely connected to a throttle rod, a pair of nuts disposed'upon the upper ends of said bolt above the upper hearing, a lever section mounted upon said bolt and extending horizontally and then upward and rearward, an arm also mounted upon the upper end of the bolt between said nuts and extending forward from the bolt, said nuts when turned toward each other holding the second named lever section and the arm upon the bolt and in adjusted relation to each other, and a spring connected to said arm and resisting movement in one direction.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

'HARRY CHESTER THEABOLD. 

